I’d only vacationed in the DC area once previously, but I also made a number of subsequent business trips there. Enjoyed the city every time. It was one of only two places I would have said I’d felt comfortable living in (the other being Chicago) despite not believing I’d ever leave Los Angeles.
When the opportunity came to move to DC for work reasons, I felt pretty good about it. Coming up on two years here, now, and I have no regrets (except for the lack of quality Mexican food).
I can understand it. As I often mention when I’m there, it’s like Ottawa, but built on a 1/10th scale. It’s got all the same stuff, but it’s all within a convenient walking distance 
I grew up in Alexandria. It was a nice little town back then. I might move to DC but wouldn’t even consider the surrounding suburbs, they’re one big strip mall.
I long planned to move to the California North Coast. Just never happened, although I came this -><- close to a dream job (managing a lighthouse museum/B&B).
When we prepared to leave (northern) California, San Diego/Coronado was on our list - we’d visited a half dozen times as a family and love the place. But leaving CA altogether was a better plan at the time. So we went to the Northeast, which we also had visited and loved… and it’s pretty much been a disaster.
So now, with anywhere reasonable available as a next choice, I am skipping over Costa Rica for… Denver. Lucky to have almost complete freedom of choosing my next hometown, but still bound to some realities. Maybe CR next stop.
Oh god, yes. Edinburgh, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna, Budapest. Also Charleston, SC.
Nice is definitely where I’m moving next.
Pity I booked tickets a week before the only Islamic terrorist attack in it’s history but honestly… f*** terrorists.
I would glady put up with the daily risk (if any) of being blown up by jihadists in a beautiful seaside city like Nice than live in the dreary towns of Northwest Europe (in Ireland and England)
I’ve spent many a party in Alexandria and would not mind living there. If I had to pick a neverending plot of suburbia to live in, though, of the ones I’ve been to, it would either be Salt Lake City or DC, as long as it was a place within walking distance of the mountains/city parks, respectively.
Wonderful area. I’ve been there many times.
I’ve been spending weekends in the coastal areas to the south of the Bay Area for a very long time, and recently purchased a “get-away” home there. Now I’m there every weekend. It’s only an hour away for me, and I do like where my main residence is, so I’m working towards doing a 50/50 split. It’s a little hard to do that right now, but I see it in my future.
My wife and I did a couple of years ago. We had lived in Seattle for a couple decades, and In our last few years there, we’d fly down to Santa Barbara for long weekends a couple of times each winter. She already had friends in the area and it was a convenient (and relatively cheap) direct flight. We had talked about what it would take to move, but never took any serious steps to making that happen.
One day We got home from work, and the incessant rain had made its way behind a failing piece of siding and was dripping into our living and dining rooms. The fact that it was raining outside AND inside broke me. We moved a couple months later and have been deliriously happy.
Ah, Santa Barbara. I once read it described as “the California of California”. Sounds like you made a very good move (I’ve been there, and yes it’s wonderful)!
I like that phrase; I’m stealing it. While it’s true that the reality of living in a place is different from vacationing there, the drawbacks are few and manageable. I would have hated it here in my youth, as I really liked the city living experience, it now it’s all about the no traffic, the perfect weather, and the immediate beach and mountains access.
City? Probably not. There are some small towns we’ve vacationed in that I would move to (Thorntown Indiana for example) but nothing that would actually be considered a city.
I lived in New Orleans and it is every bit as fun as a resident as it is for tourists. Every day is like Mardis Gras (although, ironically the actual Mardi Gras kind of sucks if you live there). I live in the Boston area now and while some people envy it, I have never understood the point. The cost of living is too high, the weather is terrible for over half the year and the people aren’t exactly rude to me but they are standoffish and unfriendly. There is a reason why ‘Masshole’ is a common term and I am afraid that I am becoming one of them.
I could probably find some place in almost any state that I would be happy in and I will need to pick one in 8 years when my daughters are out of high school. My little brother just moved to Savannah, Georgia today and that would be fine as would Charleston, South Carolina. I could also do lots of places in Texas and Colorado where I also have family. The only region that is off limits is the Pacific Northwest because I am not a fan of coffee, oddly cold people, hipsters and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). NYC is also right out because I don’t like congested cities.
I have considered moving to St. Croix in the USVI but the ex-pat population (if you can call it that is a little incestuous). It is gorgeous though.
Yep. Missoula, Montana, where my mom’s from (or close to it) and where a number of her relatives lived when I was growing up. So I vacationed to Arlee an average of once a year, where my maternal grandmother used to live with my great uncle, my great aunt, and some of my cousins, and from Arlee, the closest real town is Missoula, so that’s where we went on day trips. I went to college in Missoula, got a job, and it’s where I live now.
I say this every vacation.
I will never move, but I might always say this.
Maybe somewhere in the Florida Keys, for retirement, if I could be assured ocean levels won’t wipe them out before my expected lifetime.
Mexico had been on my list for a long time, but I’ve kind of soured on that idea.
I kind of did, as a kid. I grew up in Pennsylvania, but we used to visit family in Montreal every summer. I loved those visits. Then when I was ten years old we actually moved to Montreal to be closer to those relatives. I lived there for five years, and loved it. Then we moved back to the States for various reasons.
Just curious, how did they react to a southerner in their midst? I’ve lived/worked in a few of the North’s gleaming and mostly liberal cities. They make a big production about inclusiveness, acceptance, etc. But in my experience, diversity’s “big tent” rarely has room for a southern accent.
To the OP: I spent last week house-shopping along the Texas gulf coast. I’ve vacationed a lot in the region between Galveston and South Padre Island and I love the entire area. With retirement approaching, we realize we no longer need to live near any particular industry (the checks come no matter where we are). So we’re considering cashing out of the DFW area while real estate’s hot and decamping to the beach. Our house has tripled in value and I’m sick of traffic.
New Orleans.